Effect of Age on Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients with Stage III Colon Cancer

  1. Ilene H. Zuckerman PharmD, PhD,
  2. Thomas Rapp PhD,
  3. Ebere Onukwugha PhD,
  4. Amy Davidoff PhD,
  5. Michael A. Choti MD, MBA,
  6. James Gardner ScM,
  7. Brian Seal MBA, PhD,
  8. C. Daniel Mullins PhD

Article first published online: 25 JUN 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02355.x

Issue

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volume 57, Issue 8, pages 1403–1410, August 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Zuckerman, I. H., Rapp, T., Onukwugha, E., Davidoff, A., Choti, M. A., Gardner, J., Seal, B. and Mullins, C. D. (2009), Effect of Age on Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients with Stage III Colon Cancer. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57: 1403–1410. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02355.x

Author Information

  1. From the *Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland†Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; and ‡Sanofi-Aventis, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

*Address correspondence to Ilene H. Zuckerman, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, 220 Arch Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail: izuckerm@rx.umaryland.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 29 JUL 2009
  2. Article first published online: 25 JUN 2009

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (131K)

Keywords:

  • elderly;
  • survival;
  • Stage III colon cancer;
  • SEER

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the modifying effect of age on the survival benefit associated with adjuvant chemotherapy receipt in elderly patients with a diagnosis of Stage III colon cancer.

DESIGN: Observational, retrospective cohort study using two samples: an overall sample of 7,182 patients to provide externally valid analyses and a propensity score–matched sample of 3,016 patients to provide more internally valid analyses by reducing the presence of treatment endogeneity. An interval-censored survival model with a complementary log-log link was used. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were obtained for all regressions.

SETTINGS: Data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database and the linked Medicare enrollment and claims database were used.

PARTICIPANTS: Selected patients were aged 66 and older and had a diagnosis of Stage III colon cancer. Patients were followed from surgery to time of death or censorship.

MEASUREMENTS: The outcome was colon cancer–specific death during the follow-up period. Receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy was measured according to the presence of a claim for 5-fluorouracil or leucovorin within 6 months after surgery.

RESULTS: All elderly patients had a significant survival benefit associated with adjuvant chemotherapy receipt, although the survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy was not uniform across all age groups.

CONCLUSION: These findings have important clinical and policy implications for the risk–benefit calculation induced by treatment in older patients with Stage III colon cancer. The results suggest that there is a benefit from chemotherapy, but the benefit is lower with older age.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (131K)